1. society

RAVENA COEYMANS HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
The Hitching Post
Vol. 12 No. 3
Ravena 1914~2014
Main Street
F all 2014
By Roger A. Wilber
Many long-time residents of Ravena can still remember our Main Street as it was in the 50s and 60s,
a time of “hustle and bustle,” the heart and soul of our
village. One vivid memory I have of Main Street is
the little ice cream shop the Cistin family operated at
the corner of Wendell and Main, the National Commercial Trust Bank in the middle and the Chicorelli
Funeral Home near the east end.
I remember the street providing almost everything people wanted—grocery stores, barber shops,
hardware stores, department stores, restaurants, liquor
stores, newsrooms, among others. All businesses were
owned by local residents who took pride in their properties which, along with their surroundings, were kept
neat and clean.
The development of the Ravena area began
primarily with the arrival of the railroad yards in the
latter part of the 1800s. Workers needed housing
and the “necessities of life,” and, as population increased, so did the need for hotels, homes, and businesses. With their dependence directly or indirectly
on the railroads, businesses gradually expanded on
Main Street, which was a direct route to Coeymans
Landing and one of only two major routes to Albany. Owners now envisioned even more potential
customers.
In 1924, when the railroad operations were
moved to Selkirk, many workers, who had built or
purchased homes, continued to live in Ravena. The
removal of most of the railroad facilities, however,
was the first change to impact the growth of the village, yet the businesses on Main Street continued.
With the improvement, however, of Route 9W
into a major highway between Ravena and Albany,
people who lived south and west of Ravena began to
use a more direct route. As a result, traffic decreased
on Main Street.
Perhaps the greatest impact on the village’s
business section was construction of the New York
State Thruway in the 1950s. Because of that and the
increased use of 9W, some businesses relocated to
the 9W corridor: A&P, Palmer Lumber Company,
Mayone’s Supermarket, Kearney Ford, Roxy Cleaners. Then Stewart’s, Cumberland Farms, Rite Aid,
National Bank of Coxsackie and strip malls were
added. The new business center in Ravena was now
the 9W corridor, not Main Street.
When some people look at Main Street today,
they might ask, “What happened to all the stores?” To
answer that, we need to return to the past.
Some Main Street businesses continued to
struggle but eventually succumbed and closed: Ravena Iron, Forman’s Clothing Store, Tier’s Department Store, Bernasconi’s Pizza, Albano Barbershop,
Continued on page 3
R A V E N A
C O E Y M A N S
H I S T O R I C A L
S O C I E T Y
2014 - 2015
Officers/Trustees
President
Ralph Biance 2017
V. President
David Ross 2015
Treasurer
Marie Sturges 2015
Recording Secretary
Linda Peterman 2017
P R E S I D E N T ’ S
M E S S A G E
Dear Friends,
This year we decided to publish a third newsletter to highlight the incorporation of
the Village of Ravena during its centennial year. With our Ravena residents we celebrate events which helped to shape the community from 1914 to the present. In this
issue we feature one lifelong resident’s perspective of Main Street, thumbnail sketches
of eight mayors and timeline through photos. The historical society is grateful to
Mayors John Bruno and William Misuraca, Jr. and their Boards of Trustees who have
provided us with space for our museum and our exhibits.
Sincerely,
Ralph Biance
Corresponding Secretary
Suzanne Celella 2016
Curator/Historian
Joe Boehlke 2015
Trustees
John Bonafide 2016
Nancy Bruno 2016
Paul Lawler 2017
Dennis Whalen 2016
Committee chairs
Cemetery/Conservation
Ralph Biance
Collections
Suzanne Celella
Grants
Paul Lawler
Membership/Webpage
William Meyer
Newsletter
Marie Sturges, Editor
Mary Farinelli
Roger Wilber
Programs/Publicity
Mary Farinelli
Research
David Ross
It is with great pleasure and honor that I welcome you to this special edition of the
Ravena Coeymans Historical Society newsletter. As we celebrate the centennial year of
Ravena's incorporation, take a moment to think how our community has grown and become the wonderful place it is today.
I am proud to have grown up here, to have raised my family here, and to have a
business here. Ravena is an area rich with history and culture, and I would encourage
everyone, young and old, to take a tour of the historical society’s museum. You will
quickly learn much about our unique and interesting history.
Whether you are just passing through or planting your roots here, I sincerely hope
you experience all the wonderful things Ravena has to offer.
Sincerely,
William Misuraca, Jr.
Fundraising
Nancy Bruno
Refreshments
Linda Peterman
Mayor’s Message
Dear Community Members,
Editor’s Note: This issue features some events that occurred during each mayor’s tenure, some a mayor
directly spearheaded and others, trustees and community members envisioned and/or voted upon. We
thank Clerk-Treasurer Annette Demitraszek and Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Kristine Biernacki for their gracious assistance and warm smiles. The photos on pages 6-7 represent only a sample of the village’s development—its years of planning, its years of growth and consolidation. Appreciation, also, to Joe
Boehlke and Harry Sturges for sharing their photos.
MEMBERSHIP
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
Member
Family
Supporting/Individual
Supporting/Family
Patron
Benefactor
Individual Life
BUSINESS SPONSORS
$10 annually
$15 annually
$25 annually
$50 annually
$100+
$250+
$100 (55 or older)
Supporter
Sustaining
Patron
Benefactor
$50 annually
$100+ annually
$250+
$1000+
The Society welcomes new members, businesses and contributions, with checks payable to:
The Ravena Coeymans Historical Society c/o Treasurer
P.O. Box 324, Ravena, NY 12143
Museum Hours
The Historical Society Museum is open every Thursday (except holidays) from 1-3 p.m.
For an appointment, call 756-9395 or 756-6536.
Visit us at www.coeymanshistory.org
Pa ge
Steve’s Market, Beck’s Roller Rink, Cronin’s Hardware, Bush’s News, Forman’s Drugstore, Sandy’s
Tavern, Landmark Coffee Shop and others.
When new people moved into the village, they
tended to shop elsewhere. What was once a
“community” business section for many generations
became a memory.
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change of focus.
Former businesses which supplied food, clothing and appliances are replaced now with those
providing specialized services: Stolz Agency, Bullock Utilities, Upstate Homes & Properties, Starr
Entertainment, Hootz Family Bowling Center,
Mueller’s Automotive, Attorney Brendan Baynes,
Dentist Steven Essig, Surveyor Charles Hite, Alexander Varga & Co., CPA. Several beauty salons,
barbershops, and a few antique shops now line the
street.
What can one conclude from all of this? That
Main Street Ravena has been altered dramatically
by change, change not caused by the local business
owners. Some village main streets outside the general flow of traffic might never return to the prominence they once had unless saved by an economic
resurgence of huge proportions.
For our Main Street it is not likely to happen. We
must now look to the future and consider the following questions:
Yet, not all businesses abandoned Main
Street. Fori’s, Szechuan Empire, Biscone Law, Persico Oil, Persico Hardware, Ravena News-Herald, and
the Halfway House continued to thrive. And the Ravena Free Library, Ravena Fire Department, Ravena
Post Office, Congregational Christian Church and St.
Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church became the “life
blood” of the street.
Many walking Main Street today might get the
impression businesses no longer consider the location viable. They see a few empty buildings, some in
dire need of repair and cleanup, but their impression
would be shortsighted. What has happened is a

How can Main Street be made a more inviting
place, not just for businesses, but as a vital hub
within the village?
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How can we help local businesses continue to
grow and prosper?

If the 9W corridor is the new “Main Street,”
how can we connect it with village businesses
on Main Street so both continue to grow and
prosper?
These are challenging questions—not answered
simply or quickly.
P a ge
4
MAYORS OF RAVENA
President John E. Phillips
October 9, 1914 - February 22, 1915
Date of birth: August 24, 1843
Education: Red Hook schools ( Dutchess County)
Married to: Abbie Hapeman
Occupation: NY Central Railroad conductor
Political Party: Citizens’ Ticket (tri-partisan)
Events:
 Speed Limit Ordinance: 15 miles per hour
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Arthur Van Hoesen
1915 -1943
Sewage/disposal plant survey approved
Date of death: February 22, 1915
Place of burial: St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery
Red Hook (Dutchess County)
Date of birth: March 12, 1873
Education: Ravena schools
Married to: Jennie Shear
Occupation: NY Central Railroad engineer
Political Party: Democrat
Events:
 Filtration plant construction started 1944
Date of birth: September 20, 1876
Education: Albany Business College
Married to: Emma Hoffman
Occupation: Teacher/Feed and fruit store owner
Political Party: Republican
Events:
 Construction of Ravena sewer system started 1915
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Office of Police Justice established 1915
Village ordinances adopted December 1915
Village contracted with Atlantic Light & Power Co.. 1917
Village began sidewalk construction 1922
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Ravena High School burned 1920 and rebuilt 1922
Ravena railroad yards moved to Selkirk 1924
Rodger M. Kilmer
1945 -1954
Village purchased fifty-four fire hydrants 1926
Ravena watershed contract signed with City of Albany
1928
Park Hotel on Main Street burned 1931
Ravena Police Department formed 1932
W.P.A. gave $49,000 to develop Mosher Park 1935
Mosher Park swimming pool opened 1936
Park Committee formed/First Annual Field Day 1938
New water filtration plant approved 1941
Appointed to complete Phillips’s term March 1915
Title changed to mayor from president 1927
Longest tenured mayor—twenty-eight years
Ravena school district voted for a jointteaching program with Coeymans1944
Date of death: August 13, 1946
Place of burial: Chestnut Lawn Cemetery in
New Baltimore
Stephen Mosher donated property for a park 1921
Date of death: November 10, 1943
Place of burial: Chestnut Lawn Cemetery in New Baltimore
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Alfred T. Swartout
1943 -1945
Selected acting mayor November 1943,
to March 1944, and elected mayor for final
year of Van Hoesen’s unexpired term
Date of birth: April 1, 1904
Education: Red Hook schools (Dutchess County)
Married to: Ann E. Schott
Occupation: Grocery store owner
Political Party: Republican
Events:
 Businessman Fred Bush sold Bush’s New Room to
Harold and Isabel Roberts 1945
 Village signed street contract with Central Hudson 1947
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Ravena Fire Police Squad formed, first in local area 1949
State Telephone Co. erected building on Main Street 1950
Village water filtration plant dedicated 1951
Fire destroyed Ravena Christian Church 1951
West Shore Railroad merged with New York Central 1952
Date of death: November 7, 1992
Place of burial: Chestnut Lawn Cemetery in New Baltimore
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Resignation effective July 13, 1954 [fluoridation issue]
Pa ge
5
MAYORS OF RAVENA
Harley A. Townsend
1954 -1962
Date of birth: January 27, 1898
Education: Ravena schools
Married to: Euphemia Glen
Occupation: NY Central Railroad
Political Party: Republican
Events:
 New V.F.W. building constructed in Mosher Park 1955
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Raymond T. Bailey
1962 -1989
Date of birth: December 12, 1916
Education: Ravena schools
Married to: Kathryn Hoyt Travis
Occupation: Food inspector NYS Department
of Agriculture and Markets
Political Party: Republican/Democrat
Events:
 RCS Junior-Senior High School opened
1963
 Post Office built on Main Street 1963
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Village and Town of Coeymans built and
operated joint sewer plant 1967
RCS Junior High School constructed 1971
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NYS Thruway opened, diverting traffic from
Main Street, October 1956
Village chartered Ravena Free Library 1956
West Shore Railroad Station passenger service
stopped running 1958
Village purchased and modernized former A&P store
for village offices 1959
Ravena firehouse burned and was rebuilt 1959
Ravena Rescue Squad formed 1960
Atlantic Cement Company constructed 1962
Date of death: April 1, 1968
Place of burial: Chestnut Lawn Cemetery in New
Baltimore
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Appointed to fulfill Kilmer’s unexpired term and,
by resolution, voted mayor for five-year term 1957
Mosher Park modernized—new pool complex,
with basketball and tennis courts built—1970s
Water filtration plant modernized 1970s
Pulver House destroyed by fire 1977
Ravena Police Department expanded and
modernized 1980s
Ravena Hose Co. #1 building erected 1988
Date of death: January 19, 1991
Place of burial: Chestnut Lawn Cemetery in
New Baltimore
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Mayoral term changed to four years from
two 1962
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Elected as Republican in 1962, Democrat
in 1968
William Misuraca, Jr.
2014 - present
Date of birth: October 3, 1972
Education: Ravena schools
Married to: Jenafer Rudolph
Occupation: Halfway House Tavern owner
Political Party: Republican
Events:
 Ravena Centennial Celebration
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Building relationships and fostering unity
among all members of the community
John T. Bruno
1990 - 2014
Date of birth: September 14, 1937
Education: Ravena schools
Married to: Carol Winters
Occupation: Lafarge Operation Maintenance
Superintendent
Political Party: Democrat
Events:
 Ravena Rescue Squad/Senior Projects built
1991
 RCS Community Library chartered 1994
and relocated to Main Street (former
Knights of Columbus and Beck’s Roller
Rink) 2013
 Ravena Elementary School purchased
to consolidate village offices 1996
 Ravena Coeymans Historical Society,
RCS Community Library, Ravena
Coeymans Police Department, Village
Court, RCS District offices, Head Start
program and Ravena Health and Fitness
Center located in village municipal
Building 1996-2013
 Veterans Memorial Park, a consolidation
of monuments on Main Street 1998
 Ravena Coeymans Historical Society
provisional charter granted 1998, with
permanent charter awarded 2008
 Major improvements to water treatment
plant, doubling its capacity 2005+
Sources
Village of Ravena Minutes 1914-2014
The News-Herald
Village Trustee William Bailey
Mary Farinelli
Town Historian Harry Sturges
Roger Wilber
P a ge
6
THE VILLAGE OF RAVENA
HISTORY THROUGH PHOTOS - THE EARLY YEARS
Albany County Produce Co,/Duffy Mott,
Dempster St. circa 1880s
Pulver House , corner of Main St. and
Railroad Ave. 1884
Ravena School, Mountain Rd. 1889
Ravena Christian Church, corner of Main St.
and Mountain Rd.1890
Temperance House, corner of Central Ave.
and Main St.1892
Strevell & DeFriest Hardware Store,
corner of Main St. and Central Ave. 1889
Ravena Iron Co., Main St. 1902
Masonic Temple, Main St.1905
Roberts Building, with Babcock & Baldwin
Furniture and Undertaking, corner of Main St.
and Pulver Ave., circa 1894
Arthur Van Hoesen
and wife Emma, circa 1905
Ravena H.S., Mountain Rd. 1910
Pulver Avenue circa 1906
West Shore Railroad Ravena
Station, Russell Ave.1911
Odd Fellows Temple, Main St.,
Hartt Grocery and Ravena
Post Office, 1906
Ravena Fire Department,
Main St.1913
Halfway House Tavern,
Main St.1914
Munzburg’s Barber Shop,
Main St.1914
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THE VILLAGE OF RAVENA
HISTORY THROUGH PHOTOS ~ THE GROWTH YEARS
McCulloch Avenue circa 1925
Babcock Funeral Home, Pulver Ave.1929
Church of St. Patrick, Main St.1917
Mosher Park Swimming Pool 1936
Chicorelli’s Market, Main St. 1931
Persico Oil Company 1948 V.F.W. Building 1955
Bush’s News Room 1945
Bush’s News Room, Main Street 1945
RCS Junior-Senior High School. Rt. 9W 1963
Ravena Directory 1928
Ravena Post Office, Main St.1963
Grace United Methodist Church, Hlllcrest Dr.1965
Ravena Hose Co. #1, Main St.1988
Bernasconi’s Pizza, Main St.1967
Ravena Rescue Squad/Senior Projects 1991
RCS Community Library, Main St. 2013
Village Municipal Offices, Mountain Rd. in 2014
Centennial Parade 2014
The Hitching Post
Ravena Coeymans Historical Society
P. O. Box 324
Ravena, New York 12143
www.coeymanshistory.org
Published by the Ravena Coeymans Historical Society
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